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1993-03-09 Parks and Rec Comm Minutes CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COTW_W, -�L-I�T14 s , PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MARCH 9, 1993 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, March 9, 1993, in the City Hall Large Conference Room, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 o'clock P.M. The following members were present: Katz, Norton, Kleinglass, Spicer, Linnell, Damberg and Libra. Also present were Administrative Assistant Kevin Batchelder and Civil Engineer Klayton Eckles. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Damberg moved to approve the February 9, 1993 Minutes. Commissioner Spicer seconded the motion. AYES: 7 KAYSs 0 REQUEST TO DEDICATE FIELD E� The Parks and Recreation Commission discussed the request to name a field or park in the Mendota Heights park system after Mr. Richard (Jake) Grauman. Mr. Daniel O'Keefe, 745 Pontiac Place, on behalf of the Korean War Veteran's Association, had made a request of the City of Mendota Heights to name a field or a park after Richard Grauman who was missing in action in the Korean War. The Commission discussed the need to have a policy on naming fields and parks in Mendota Heights. Administrative Assistant Batchelder stated he had contacted the School District about the possibility of naming the Sibley Park Varsity baseball field in dedication of Richard Grauman. Batchelder stated the Sibley Varsity baseball field would be an appropriate site because the School District encompasses the community of West St. Paul and Mendota Heights. Batchelder stated a lot of parents and children would be visiting the Varsity baseball field in the future and this would be a quite visible site. Commissioner Kleinglass stated he believes the request was also coincidental to the 40th Anniversary of the Korean War and the fact that the Korean War Veteran's Association is holding their annual convention in Bloomington in July. Kleinglass stated there was a possibility that President Clinton would be in town for a dedication ceremony to inter ten M.I.A. 's at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Mr. O'Keefe introduced LeRoy Noack, Chuck Velin and his brother, Gary O'Keefe as friends and neighbors of Richard • (Jake) Grauman. Mr. O'Keefe stated all four are Veterans of the Korean War. Mr. O'Keefe stated the worse possible fate for a soldier is to be missing and the second worse possible fate is then to be forgotten. Mr. O'Keefe stated when all of Richard's friends and neighbors are gone, he will then be forgotten and that he believes it would be a fine thing for the City to preserve his memory by naming a field after him. Mr. O'Keefe stated that Jake sacrificed his life in service of his Country and that it would be appropriate to dedicate a field in his honor. Commissioner Spicer inquired if there was a Mendota Heights in the 1940's when Jake and his friends went through high school. Mr. Noack responded that at that time Mendota Heights was a township and that everyone north of Highway 110 was in what was considered District 5 schools at that time. Mr. Noack stated that the choice was to attend South St. Paul or Humboldt High School and at that time Sibley School was a junior high. Mr. Noack stated at that time everybody in this area considered themselves West Siders and it was considered to be one community. Mr. Velin stated Jake Grauman is one of two soldiers missing in action from the Korean War that were from Dakota County. He stated it would be nice to name a ballfield after Jake Grauman because he was a recognized athlete in high school and his desire was to run a sporting goods store after the war. Mr. Velin stated it would be a good thing for Mendota Heights and that this dedication ceremony could be tied in with the National Convention that the Korean War Veteran's Association is holding in Bloomington this coming July. Mr. O'Keefe stated the other gentleman missing in action from Dakota County was from southern Dakota County and the request is only for Jake Grauman's dedication. Mr. O'Keefe stated there are still 8,000 soldiers missing in action from the Korean War. The Commission inquired if Humboldt High School or the City of West St. Paul had been approached. Mr. Velin responded they just feel the dedication for Jake Grauman should be somewhere in Dakota County and that Mendota Heights has new park facilities and that Jake's closest friends have resided in Mendota Heights for many years. The Commission briefly discussed the need to have a policy to guide their actions on recommendations for park dedications. Commissioner Spicer stated these gentlemen must really have been friends to come back forty years later to get their friend recognized and have a park dedicated after him. Mr. Velian responded all four of the gentlemen present tonight were good friends of Jake Grauman and he was the kind of guy who never said a bad thing about anybody. He stated that Jake was a true gentlemen and everybody liked Jake. Commissioner Kleinglass moved that the Parks Commission give staff some guidelines on a policy to adopt at the April meeting and that the Parks Commission at the April meeting should make a recommendation that a field be named for Mr. Richard (Jake) Grauman. Commissioner Spicer seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 The Commission directed staff to come back with a brief policy discussing the procedural approach for approving park dedications and directed staff to pursue with the School District the Sibley Varsity baseball field as the first priority for naming a field after Richard (Jake) Grauman and that the second priority would be a softball field. Commissioner Norton stated that part of the policy should include a diversity in the types of contributions made including historical and civic contributions as well as military contributions. Commissioner Libra stated this would be an opportunity to recognize all Korean Veterans and that this should be a tribute for all missing in action Korean Veterans. IVY FALLS IMPROVEMM PROJECT Civil Engineer Klayton Eckles made a presentation on the Ivy Falls Storm Water Improvement Project for the information of the Parks Commission. Eckles explained the drainage and erosion problems in Ivy Falls Creek and described the improvement project plans. Eckles stated the park area currently contains a small detention pond with temporary storage for water during large rain events. He stated this storage capacity is inadequate and as part of the improvement project need to be enlarged. Eckles stated a detention pond concentrates water during major storm events and then slowly allows the water to drain through a small pipe. He stated this capacity allows the City to plan for catastrophic ten year and 100 year storms. He stated currently there is a wet pond in this area and the detention area fills up during a one year storm event. He stated the City desires to build its capacity to handle a ten year storm event so that the water does not flow over Maple Park Drive. Eckles explained the City Engineers have planned to excavate out a small area of the park and build a berm along Maple Park Drive that would hold the water back and allow the water to pool in this area. Eckles stated the size of the permanent water pond area would not change but that the detention area is being enlarged. • Commissioner Spicer inquired if this detention area would impact the ballfield or the playground equipment. Eckles stated no, but it will be close to the play field and the ballfield, however they would not be disturbed at all during s construction or during storm events. Eckles stated the major impact will be the aesthetics due to grading and the loss of trees and vegetation. Eckles stated the plans are to build a dike on the south end of the pond along Maple Park Drive and that this berm will be approximately eight feet tall at the highest location. Eckles stated that this berm would be higher than the road and will block visibility into the park for someone sitting in a vehicle at the corner of Sylvandale and Maple Park Drive. Eckles also stated this berm would be in the area where the current sign is. Eckles stated a portion of the current trail will be removed and replaced with this construction project. Eckles described possibilities for replacing the trail and providing benches and picnic tables along the water's edges. He described his idea to transplant trees to provide shade for the play structure and described how new trees and clusters of vegetation would be planted. Eckles stated a retaining wall will be built in the southwest corner of the park to save some existing mature trees and described the potential for an additional trail in this area. Commissioner Damberg inquired if there would be a safety problem with the play equipment being adjacent to the pond. Eckles responded no, the existing pond is the same as the proposed pond only that there would be increased detention during severe storm events. Eckles stated the landscape plan included the planting of cattails and vegetation to define the edges of the pond keep children and pets away. Eckles stated the pond will have a less severe grade and less severe slopes in the future and that with the plantings along the edge of the pond would be more conducive to wildlife. Eckles stated there have been some delays in this project and he is still looking at a July start with fall construction. Commissioner Norton inquired what the detention area would look like when it is not wet and holding water. Eckles described this as a grassy area that would be landscaped with new trees. He stated there is money in the project budget for trees, trail replacement, berming and landscaping. Commissioner Libra stated the drainage on the nearby ballfield is poor and can this be improved. Eckles responded that the only way to improve the drainage of that ballfield would be to provide drain tile or to regrade the field. Commissioner Libra inquired if staff could take a look at this. Eckles inquired if anyone on the Commission had strong opinions about the improvement project as discussed this evening. Commissioner Katz stated the eight foot berm appears to be the major concern as it blocks visibility into the park from a small portion of Maple Park Drive. Commissioner Linnell stated the new bike trail proposed on the southwest side of the pond is probably too steep down to the street to be safe. He was wondering if the trail could be dead ended into this picnic area. Commissioner Linnell also stated a concern about the height of the berm and its blocking of access and visibility into the park. He inquired if the play equipment would be visible from the street. Eckles responded that he is trying to balance the water volume needs with the access and visibility to the park. Eckles stated a berm could be only 318° high to be visible from someone sitting in a car parked along the street. Eckles explained the engineers had looked at having a 6 foot berm instead of an 8 foot berm but that this would block as much visibility and would require the detention area to take up more of the existing park and would encroach on the playground equipment area and the ballfield. The Parks Commission discussed the project and its impact on the park and inquired if staff could plan to include more tree plantings; if staff could look into the drainage on the ballfield and to direct Parks Project Manager Kullander to review the aesthetics and landscaping for possible recommendations and that this is an opportunity to improve some of the landscaping and amenities around the pond area. ANNUAL PARK CELEBRATION CMMTTEE Batchelder stated he was beginning to form a volunteer planning committee to steer the plans for this coming year's annual park celebration. He stated a letter would be sent out to last year's participants and volunteers seeking people to staff the steering committee. Commissioner Norton and Commissioner Libra volunteered to be on the planning committee. Batchelder stated he would be contacting City Councilmembers to serve on the steering committee. VERBAL UPDATES Batchelder stated a few City Councilmembers had received phone calls from the Sibley girl's fast pitch team who were concerned that their teams would not be accommodated on the new Mendakota fields. Batchelder stated Recreation Programmer Michelle Morgan had been taking written requests for field reservations and was trying to accommodate all user groups who desire to use those fields. Batchelder stated the Sibley girl's fast pitch team has been preliminarily scheduled to have one field on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Batchelder stated staff had met Mr. Eugene Schway owner of the Par 3 Golf Course to discuss his plans to sell the property. Batchelder stated staff and Mr. Schway discussed the league activity currently at the Par 3 Golf Course, the employment of the current work force and a purchase price. Batchelder stated a leasing option was also discussed with Mr. Schway. Batchelder stated the City staff had asked Mr. Schway to provide five years worth of audited financial reports and to provide the league schedules so staff could analyze the economics of the Par 3 Golf Course. Batchelder stated it was likely that after this analysis had been done, this item would • be showing up on a parks agenda. Batchelder stated the Dakota County Board had given County staff the okay to work with MnDOT on providing tunnels on the old Soo Line rail bed for their regional trail system. Batchelder stated he was getting conflicting reports from the County and MnDOT regarding whether these tunnels would be included in the design for the highway project. Batchelder stated the City is still cooperating with Dakota County and the City of Minneapolis to pursue ISTEA Funding for providing this regional trail system on the west side of the City of Mendota Heights. Batchelder stated the Recreation Programmer had put together a nature camp program to be conducted on July 29 and 30 this year at Valley Park. He stated this is a two-day day camp that would operate from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and would be put on by Mr. Tim Lundahl who -is an interpretive naturalist who has worked in the past with the Cities of Burnsville, Lakeville, Eagan, Savage and Apple Valley. Batchelder stated activities will include a plant hike, making leaf print t- shirts, pond studies and other outdoor games. Batchelder stated this is designed for children ages 6-12 and that the program would be funded by user fees. There would need to be a minimum of 15 , registrants and a maximum 30 registrants. Batchelder stated that this was one step towards meeting the Parks Commission's desire to have non-athletic recreational programs. Batchelder stated the St. Thomas request for tennis courts was approved by City Council for Roger's Lake Park and Marie Park. Batchelder stated softball registration is keeping Michelle Morgan busy and that the leagues are filling up. Batchelder stated sand volleyball registration begins in April. Batchelder stated that the ice skating rinks were closed on Tuesday, March 2nd and that this provided a season two weeks longer than the normal ice skating season. Batchelder stated a report on ice rink usage would be available at a future meeting. METING TIME Commissioner Spicer made a motion that the Parks Commission begin their regular meetings a 6:30 P.M. in order to conclude earlier in the evening. Commissioner Katz seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 COMMISSION COMMENTS Commissioner Linnell stated that if the City is starting to get serious about the acquisition of the Par 3 Golf Course that he had some reservations about this. Linnell stated the golf course should be seriously analyzed to see if it makes economic sense and that there might be other, better park needs for this land. He stated the City should analyze the best area for a golf course and whether the golf course would work. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the Parks Commission adjourned at 8:50 o'clock P.M. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Batchelder Administrative Assistant